Plotting
by Insane. Certifiably
Summary: Claudia can do a lot when she puts her mind to it, even matchmake two stubborn agents. Rated T because I'm not sure where exactly this will go.
1. And so it begins

**Summary: Claudia can do a lot when she puts her mind to it, even enlist a 150 year old Brit to help her matchmake two of the best, most stubborn agents the Warehouse has ever seen.**

**I don't own Warehouse 13, but I'd love to work there.**

* * *

"So, HG," Claudia began, flopping down next to the older woman, "What do you think of Pete and Myka?"

"Well, Pete is extremely childish, but protective of those…"

"Not like that," Claudia interrupted, "I mean together. Like, as Pyka."

"Pyka?" HG said incredulously, "is that another modern word I've missed?"

Claudia grinned. "No, it's their relationship name. **P**ete and M**yka**, Pyka. Get it?"

Wells thought about it for a moment. "No, I still don't 'get it', but I sense you have some point in mentioning it other than teaching me about 'relationship names'."

"Well, I think that they've been rather grumpy lately and that maybe they could both do with a distraction," Claudia said evasively.

"You want to matchmake them," interpreted HG.

"Well, yes," Claudia said sheepishly, she wasn't quite sure if HG would approve of this plan.

"Well then," HG said, putting her book down, "what are we waiting for?"

* * *

**AN: yeah, it's short. Bear with me. Leave me an idea in a review and I'll see if I can use it.**


	2. Mistletoe

Disclaimer: If you think I own Warehouse 13, you need to be taking medication.

AN: This chapter was inspired by that scene with the original mistletoe in the Christmas episode. I forgot to say in the last chapter, but this is my first multi-chapter fic. Oh, and I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine.

Chapter 2: Mistletoe

"Careful," Joshua called, stopping Myka, "That's the original mistletoe! It's rather potent."

Claudia mentally stomped her foot, she'd been hoping no one would notice that. Pete held out his arms towards Myka, making little kissy sounds. Myka looked like she wanted to smack him for being childish, but didn't want to get to close.

_Darn it,_ thought Pete, _so close and yet so far._ Then, _wait, this is Myka, my no-nonsense, bookish partner, I can't think of her that way!_

_He looks so cute when he does that_ thought Myka, then_ Where did that thought come from?_

Joshua came to take the offending plant down. Pete scurried out of the way, having no desire to kiss Claudia's brother, and Artie walked in. "What did you do to my office?" he snapped at Claudia.

"Relax, geezer, it's called Christmas spirit," she said, "I even got you a present."

"A present?" he asked.

"Yes, it's traditional to give gifts of appreciation around this time of year." Claudia held up the box containing the sweater she'd gotten him.

"I don't want a present," Artie grouched.

"Open it," Claudia commanded.

Artie reluctantly did so, pulling out the sweater. As he went to put it away, he ran into Joshua, who was still trying to get the mistletoe down. The two men stared at each other for a second before Artie grabbed Joshua and kissed him. When he came to his senses, he released the younger man and quickly walked out, yelling to "Get that thing down!"

"I think I'm going to have nightmares for weeks," Joshua confided to the room at large.

Myka and Pete were too busy laughing to offer their sympathy.

Claudia rolled her eyes and followed her brother out.

WAREHOUSE 13 WAREHOUSE 13 WAREHOUSE 13 WAREHOUSE 13

"Have you got it?"HG hissed to her partner-in-crime.

Claudia nodded, pulling her jacket aside just enough to show the small package. "Can you distract them?"

HG nodded and moved to stall their targets while Claudia slipped upstairs.

WAREHOUSE 13 WAREHOUSE 13 WAREHOUSE 13 WAREHOUSE 13

"That was wild," Pete said.

"Pete, it was an Artifact, name one that hasn't been crazy." Myka chided her partner.

"Myka, come on, it was Santa," Pete whined, "tell me you weren't just the least bit excited when you heard that."

"I wasn't, okay, Pete. Pete?" Her partner had stopped in the middle of the hall, a slightly vacant look on his face. She moved over and shook his shoulders lightly. As soon as she touched him, Pete seemed to snap out of whatever trance he'd been. He grabbed her, hauled her to him and kissed her.

Myka went stiff for a second, then respond with equal fervor.

Watching the kissing couple, Claudia grinned. "See, I told you it would work," she hissed to her fellow spectator.

HG nodded. "Do you think we should stop them?"

"Nah, they'll stop themselves."

Pete and Myka came up for air. Immediately, they broke apart, each taking a step back. Myka looked up.

"Pete, did you move the mistletoe?" she asked in a strained, breathless voice

"No, why?" Pete asked.

Myka pointed upwards, "Because it somehow made its way to the hall."

Pete shrugged. "Must have been Claudia trying to prank Artie."

"Yeah, so the…" she trailed off.

"Kiss," provided Pete.

"Yeah, that. It was just a product of the Artifact, right?" Myka seemed like she was trying to convince herself.

"Right." Pete agreed, a little too fast.

"Well, um, good night then."

The partners made their way into their respective rooms, carefully avoiding the spot where the mistletoe hung.

Claudia and HG looked at each other in dismay.

"It didn't work." Claudia said in disappointment.

The pair made their way back downstairs, pausing so Claudia could extract the mistletoe, and plopped down on the sofa.

"Hey, guys," Leena said coming in with three glasses of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies, "I take it the plan failed."

HG and Claudia gaped at her. "How'd you know?" HG asked.

"Well, Claudia came in all secretive-like, talked to you; and you engaged Pete and Myka in a conversation until Claudia came back down. Then they went up and you came down, looking disappointed." Leena paused, "What was the plan, anyway?"

Claudia looked at HG, who nodded. She pulled the mistletoe out of her pocket and laid it on the table. "I hung it in the hallway, where Pete and Myka would walk under it."

"It sort of worked," HG said, picking up the explanation, "they kissed, but denied that it was anything more than the Artifact."

"Sounds like our resident lovebirds need some help seeing the light," Leena mused, "How can I help?"

Claudia and HG shared a delighted look, then plunged into planning with their new co-conspirator.

AN: Love it? Hate it? Got an idea? Want a cookie? Want to say hi? All reviewers get free virtual oatmeal scotchies, if I can drag them away from Artie, that is.


	3. Bound

AN: *Peers out from behind rock* umm, hi guys. I know I haven't updated in forever, please don't throw vegetables at me. I have good news and I have bad news. The good news: I actually have a plan now! The bad news: I don't have the rest of this written.

Kay K- BIG COOKIE!

Claudia-scags- BIG COOKIE!

Laby Anne Boleyn- you reviewed both chapters, so you get TWO BIG COOKIES! Oh and I tried, and it shows up in Word, but not when I post it.

Disclaimer: I own the laptop on my knees, but not the awesomeness that is Warehouse 13.

* * *

"There's a shipment of new Artifacts coming in," Claudia said without preamble as her co-conspirators walked into the room.

HG caught on faster than Leena did. "What's in this mystery shipment that can help us?" she asked

"Take a look," Claudia said, spinning her laptop around so the older women could look at the screen.

"That?" Leena asked, pointing to one of the scrolling Artifacts.

"Ding, ding. Points to Leena," Claudia affirmed.

HG leaned in to take a closer look. "That will certainly help, darling. How do we use it?"

Claudia spun her laptop back around and began explaining her brilliant plan.

* * *

"What's this?" Pete asked, picking up the small stone statue that was sitting on Myka's desk.

"An Artifact that needs to be shelved," Myka answered, "Don't touch it."

"Why not?" he asked, "It seems harmless enough, and I'm wearing gloves." He said the last bit in a teasing sing-song voice, holding up a hand for her inspection.

"You are such a child, you know that?" Myka replied, shaking her head.

"What does this do exactly?" Pete asked, turning his attention back to the little statue.

"Give it here and I'll find out," his partner responded holding out her own gloved hand for the Artifact.

Pete placed it on her palm. The instant it was in contact with both of them, it started sparking. They both felt the energy flowing through them and saw it arcing between them. Pete tried to release the statue, but his muscles weren't obeying his brain.

As suddenly as it had started, the energy stopped. Pete's hand finally got the signal and he released the statue, taking a few steps back for good measure.

"Did you see that?" Myka asked.

"You mean the freaky electrical storm inside?" Pete asked, "Yeah, I saw that."

"The Artifact shouldn't have reacted since we were both wearing gloves," Myka mused. She turned to her computer, booted it up, and quickly found the information she was looking for. "Uh oh," she said.

"What?"Came Pete's voice form directly behind her.

She pointed to the screen. "This was made to contain criminals who escaped handcuffs. It links two people together if they touch it at the same time."

"That sounds useful, why is it in the Warehouse?" Pete wondered aloud.

"Because it's faulty," Myka explained, "They couldn't turn it off."

_Well, _thought Pete, _if I have to be stuck to someone, I'm glad it's her. _Then, _why would I want to be stuck to Myka, she's bossy and wants to hit me every five minutes. Yes, she's beautiful and I'd love to kiss her again. _Pete paused, remembering kissing Myka under the Original Mistletoe. They'd written it off as nothing more than the effects of the Artifact, but Pete was surprised at how much he wanted to do it again. _I thought kissing Alice was great, but Alice doesn't hold a candle to Real Myka, even if she was under the influence of an Artifact._ He was jolted out of his thoughts by Myka snapping her fingers under his nose.

"Hello, Pete? Earth to Pete," Myka called, snapping her fingers again.

"Sorry, I zoned out there," Pete said.

"Did you hear anything I said in the past few minutes?" his partner asked in an exasperated tone of voice.

"Um, maybe a little?" Pete ventured.

Myka sighed and turned back to her folder. "I was saying that it's in the Warehouse because they can't turn it off. Once it connected two people, it didn't let them go for three days.

"How long is the tether?" Pete asked.

"It doesn't say," Myka replied, "you should've gotten a folder too, maybe that has more information. It should be on your desk."

Pete nodded, completely ignoring the fact that Myka's back was to him and she wouldn't be able to see it, and started across the room to his desk. After about a dozen steps, he felt the sensation of having one end of a giant rubber band wrapped around his chest, a very large rubber band. Next thing he knew, he was hurtling across the room like he really had been shot out of a rubber band.

Halfway back to Myka's desk, he collided with something. He and the something went crashing to the floor.

"Ow," groaned Myka, "that hurt."

"Tell me about it," moaned Pete from next to her on the floor,

The door opened in a whoosh of air, accompanied by Artie's voice. "What are you two doing on the floor?" he asked.

Pete picked himself up and extended a hand to help his partner do the same. She accepted the help, and then turned to face their boss. "Pete," she accentuated the word by poking him in the ribs, "couldn't keep his hands off one of the Artifacts, so we're stuck together for the next three days."

"Stuck together how?" Artie asked.

"Meaning," Myka explained, "that we can't be more than…" she turned to Pete, "what would you say that distance was?"

Pete thought for a second, measuring the distance in his head. "About ten feet or so," he answered.

"About ten feet before we get snapped back together," Myka finished.

"Violently," added Pete.

"Have you tried neutralizing the Artifact that did this?" Artie asked.

"It's already affected us, Artie," Myka said, "I don't think it would have any effect."

"Never rule anything out," Artie responded, pulling a pair of purple gloves out of his bag. He asked which Artifact Pete had been playing with and disappeared to the gooery with it.

"Pete," Myka started, in that tone that meant she'd found something and he might not like it, "was the statue's staff in contact with its foot when you picked it up?"

Pete thought for a second. "Yeah, it was," he answered, "why?"

"The staff acts like an on/off switch," she explained, "the Artifact only works if the two parts are in contact."

"Let me guess," Pete interrupted, "it was supposed to be off."

Myka nodded. "The records say it was deactivated for transport."

"So it got bumped while it was being shipped," Pete said.

"Yeah, that must be it," Myka agreed uncertainly. "Well, we may as well shelve these while Artie goos the statue," she said, referring to the three Artifacts still on her desk.

Pete nodded and grabbed two, leaving her to pick up the remaining one and the clipboard containing the shelving assignments.

Artie called them as they were sealing the last one on its shelf. "I gooed it," he told them, "did the effect stop?"

Pete and Myka shared a look. "We haven't exactly tested it since we accidently set it off in the office," Pete informed him.

"Well, try," Artie ordered. When they hesitated, he barked impatiently, "Well, get on with it, we haven't got all day."

His agents glanced at each other again, before Myka turned on her heel and marched off in the opposite direction. She got about ten feet before they went flying towards each other. They collided with a thud and tumbled to the Warehouse floor.

"This is going to be a long three days," Myka groaned.

* * *

AN2: This is the longest chapter I've written do far for this story. I promise not to take so long in uploading the next chapter. I'd like to try and finish this by the 26th, so your chapters will come much faster.

Big cookies and a free imaginary tour of the Warehouse to those who review.


	4. Sleeping arrangements

AN: Two chapters in four days. You guys will be spoiled if I keep this up. Oh and there's a scene in here that I took almost straight from the show. Whomever can tell me which it is and what episode it's from gets an extra cookie.

Claudia-scags: BIG COOKIE and ticket for 1 Warehouse tour!

xKaitiiix: BIG COOKIE and ticket for 1 Warehouse tour!

You guys are awesome. Your reviews are the reason I could get this up so fast. Thanks a million.

Disclaimer: if I owned Warehouse 13, this would probably be happening.

**(This is a scene break since I still can't make the website put in horizontal lines)**

Myka hauled herself to her feet and extended a hand to help Pete up. They dusted themselves off and turned back to the Farnsworth, which Pete had dropped when he went flying. Myka picked it up and Pete leaned over her shoulder to see.

"I assume by the fact that I was staring at the ceiling that gooing the statue had no effect," Artie said.

"We're stuck together," Myka confirmed.

"Well, you two are on inventory for the next three days, assignments are in the office," Artie informed them. He shut the Farnsworth on their protests.

"Oh great," Myka sighed, "I'm stuck to you and I'm on inventory."

Pete shrugged. "It could be worse," he said.

Myka looked at him. "How so?"

"You could be tied to Artie," he answered. Myka stared at him for a second, and then burst out laughing. Pete managed to keep a straight face for all of three seconds before joining in.

One they'd managed to stop laughing, they headed up to the office to retrieve their assignments.

**(This is *gasp* a scene break!)**

"Done!" Pete crowed as he checked off the last Artifact on his clipboard. He launched into a silly little victory dance, barely hanging onto the clipboard.

Myka had to duck as the clipboard passed where her head had been less than half a second ago.

"Pete," she snapped, "watch where you're waving that."

"Oooh, someone's crabby today," he observed, though (mercifully) stopping his dance.

"At least I don't act like a five year old every chance I get," she retorted.

"Well…"

In the office, Artie was working on the computer. He'd been tracking a series of disturbances that he thought might lead to an Artifact. The computer on his left suddenly pinged. He looked over, expecting to see results. Instead, it was showing a map of the Warehouse with the words "WARNING! NEGATIVE ENERGY!" blinking.

Artie sighed and got on the intercom. "Guys," he said.

Pete and Myka were so wrapped up in their argument that they didn't notice Artie's voice coming out of the speaker.

"Guys," he tried again, "watch your negative energy."

He contemplated letting them just have it out before he noticed that some of the Artifacts around the arguing pair were beginning to spark.

"Oh no," Artie said. He got the controls to the portable neutralizing system and quickly entered in the coordinates. "You might want to close your eyes," he tried one last time. Being ignored yet again, he pulled the lever to turn the system on and sat back. "Someone had to do it," he said to himself before turning back to his work.

Pete and Myka had tuned out the world to the extent that they didn't notice the shower head-like device wheeling along the rail above them.

"You might want to close your eyes," Artie's voice said. Either they didn't hear or they didn't care.

They noticed, however, when the shower head-looking thing poured neutralizer all over them. They stopped arguing and stood shock still for a second. Pete ran his hands down his soaked face and flicked the purple go on them at Myka. She flinched, and then started laughing. She grabbed Pete's upper arms, thinking to push him over, but he pushed back. They slipped on the neutralizer-covered floor and ended up laying on it, tangled together, still laughing.

Eventually, they recovered enough to haul their still purple selves back up to the office, completed inventory slips in hand.

Claudia looked up when they entered. "Dudes, what happened to you?" she asked, "You look like you had a run in with an angry thunderstorm."

"We got gooed," Pete said, by way of explanation.

"This is what happens when you don't watch your negative energy," Artie said without turning around.

"Great," Myka said sarcastically, "Well, I'm going to go take a shower." She walked into the bathroom and Pete went and leaned against the wall so Myka wouldn't go flying.

Claudia raised an eyebrow at this behavior, but didn't comment. Myka finished quickly and came out in the spare clothes all agents kept at the Warehouse. She and Pete switched places, though she didn't lean in exactly the same spot.

"All right, I have to say something," Claudia burst out. "What is with that?"

"With what?" Myka asked.

"You guys," Claudia answered. Then, seeing Myka's expression, she tried to clarify her point. "You go in and Pete leans against the wall, Pete goes in and you lean against the wall, what is with you? Usually you'd have curled up on the couch with a book or something while you waited for him."

Myka looked as if someone had turned a light bulb on over her head. "Pete couldn't stop himself from playing with the Artifacts, so we're stuck together."

"That sounds like fun," Claudia remarked, "try not to kill each other."

"I'll try," Myka promised, knowing Pete was like a big brother to Claudia.

"Good," she stood and stretched. "Well, I'm heading out, you coming, geezer?"

"Don't call me that," Artie muttered, most of his attention still on his computer screen.

Claudia crossed the room and tugged on his arm. "Come on, Leena will kill me if I let you stay here all night again."

"I have to finish this," Artie protested, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

"Not today you don't," Claudia said, leaning over to turn off the monitor. Artie spluttered and tried to turn it back on, but the teen took advantage of his distraction to haul him up out of the chair and start pushing him toward the exit. "Come on, old man, nobody's going to die if you get a decent night's sleep," she said, reaching around him to enter the door code. By now, Artie seemed to have given in, because he was letting Claudia propel him without complaint.

Myka chuckled at the look on Artie's face as he was escorted out the door. Pete came out of the bathroom as the door swung shut and looked around in confusion. "Where did Artie and Claudia go?" he asked.

"They went back to Leena's for the night," Myka answered, "we should probably call it a day too."

"Sounds like a plan," Pete said. They made their way out the door and through the tunnel, neither noticing the ping that popped up on Artie's computer.

**(By the way, this is a scene break)**

They arrived as the dust from Artie's car was still settling and went inside. Pete was nearly bouncing in his eagerness.

"It's not a race," Myka told him.

"It is when there are cookies involved," Pete said and disappeared inside before she could smack his shoulder.

He didn't go far though, and Myka followed him into the kitchen, where Leena was making cookies. Pete promptly tried to steal one while her back was turned. "I know what you're doing," Leena said calmly, "and I'd advise against it."

Pete, being Pete, tried to steal one anyway. He let out a soft yelp and stuck his newly burned finger in his mouth. Myka cracked a grin at her partner's antics and ordered him to put his finger under cold water. He saluted with his unburned hand and did as she'd said.

While he was busy at the sink, Leena put the newest tray of cookies to cool and got Pete a plate of them. She handed the plate to Myka and watched the pair for a moment. They seemed to be behaving like normal, but there was a strange undercurrent of purple running through both their auras. She guessed the streak was from the Artifact that was affecting them and asked as much.

They looked rather startled when she asked. "Why do you think that?" Myka asked.

"There's a streak in both your auras that is the exact same shade of purple. It wasn't there this morning, so I guess something affected you," she explained.

Taking turns, they explained what had happened and how. When they'd finished, Leena nodded. "So whose room will you be sleeping in?" she asked. They looked at her like she'd grown an extra head. "If you're tied together, you'll have to sleep in the same room," she explained, "so whose will it be?"

Myka and Pete exchanged a look, and then shrugged. "We hadn't thought about it," Myka said.

Leena nodded and shooed them out of her kitchen so she could finish.

**(And it's another scene break!)**

"Did it work?" Claudia asked. She'd cornered Leena in the kitchen after dinner.

"Why ask me?" Leena queried, "I might know as much as you do."

"But you don't," Claudia said, "You know something."

Leena peered out of the kitchen at the scene in the living room. Pete and Myka were sitting on the couch and Artie was in his armchair, reading a book. HG had gone up to bed not too long ago and judging by the way Myka's head kept drooping forward, she and Pete would be following her fairly soon.

"Yes," Leena said to the tech girl.

"Yes what?" she asked, having apparently forgotten her original question.

"Yes, the Artifact worked," Leena clarified, "but the plan hasn't succeeded quite yet."

**(I wonder what this is. Oh right, it's a scene break)**

"Myka," Pete whispered, rolling over to face her, "I can't sleep."

"What did you expect me to do about it?" mumbled the figure on the other side of the bed. They'd decided to sleep in Myka's bed since it was bigger.

"I need cookies," Pete told her.

Myka groaned into her pillow. Of course he needed cookies in the middle of the night when any sane person would be sleeping. The springs on her bed creaked as Pete got out. He walked around and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking gently.

"Come on," he whispered. She rolled over so her back was to him, and tried to ignore his whining. "Myka," he said again, this time with a trace of a threatening tone in his voice, "you can get up or I can carry you, but we're going downstairs for cookies."

Myka seriously considered putting the pillow over her head to block out the noise and wondered how long it would take him to give up.

Her eyes shot open as the mattress disappeared from beneath her. Her mind quickly processed that Pete had made good on his threat and was carrying her across the room.

"Put me down," she hissed, not too loudly, so as not to wake the others; but loud enough to get her point across.

Pete grinned at her. "Nope, not until I get some cookies."

Myka sighed. She could get down if she wanted to, but it felt oddly nice to have Pete carrying her. It made her feel protected, not that she needed protecting, she was a Secret Service agent after all; but it was nice to feel looked after. Besides, Pete was going to get his cookies anyway and she didn't feel like flying across the room again. She closed her eyes and nestled close to him.

Pete looked down at his partner's peaceful face. She had given in surprisingly easily. He'd expected her to at least get out of his arms, but instead she'd relaxed, snuggling into him.

He restrained a laugh at that thought. He would never in a million years put the words _Myka_ and _snuggling_ in the same paragraph, let alone the same sentence. Still, it did feel nice to have her in his arms.

Pete carried his nearly-sleeping partner bridal style down the stairs, across the living room, and into the kitchen. There he set her down and started searching for where Leena had hidden the cookies.

Myka hopped up on the counter and watched Pete search almost desperately for his cookies. She knew exactly where they were, because she'd watched Leena hide them, but it was more amusing to watch Pete search.

Having searched all the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen, Pete started in on the ones on her side. The cookies, she remembered, were stored in the pantry near the top.

She slid off when he got to the behind her and leaned against the opposite counter. Pete finished searching the cabinets and looked around for more places they might be. Leena's kitchen wasn't too big so she wasn't worried about becoming airborne if he decided to search the refrigerator next. She'd predicted correctly, it seemed, because he started towards the fridge. Only, halfway there, he took a step to the side and placed his hands on the counter on either side of her waist, boxing her in.

"Where are the cookies?" he whispered.

"I'm not telling" she whispered back.

A quiet cough made Pete jump back as if he'd been burned. Myka hadn't even noticed that they were leaning closer. She turned to face whoever had come in.

Leena stood there in her nightgown, looking at them with raised eyebrows.

"Hi, Leena," Myka said, ignoring the fact that her face was bright red, "what are you doing up?"

"Pete woke me by crashing through my cabinets," the aura reader answered. She walked past Pete and Myka to the pantry, where she reached up and pulled down the container of cookies. She gave handed this to Pete after grabbing one for herself and leaned against the counter opposite Myka.

Pete pulled out a cookie and shoved it in his mouth whole. Myka shook her head at the sight of him with his cheeks bulging out and stole a cookie from the container.

Pete tried to day something. But his mouth was so full that it came out sounding like: "Mm thgst vo ddt at shogr."

Myka snickered. "Chew, swallow, then talk," she instructed her childish partner. Pete followed her directions and as soon as his mouth was clear said "I thought you didn't eat sugar."

"For all you know, these are sugar free," Myka said, nimbly avoiding Pete's hand trying to steal her cookie and took a bite. "These are excellent, Leena," she said once she'd swallowed.

Leena was looking at them with a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth. "It's interesting how much your auras have changed since you came here," she remarked.

"How so?" Pete managed to ask around another mouthful of cookie. Myka hit his shoulder for talking with his mouth full.

"Well, Myka, yours was much darker when you came here. It's still gray, but the first time I saw it, it resembled thunderclouds. Now it's closer to silver.

Pete, your aura is less erratic. When you arrived, it ranged from brilliant yellow in some places to deep red in others. Now, it's almost a uniform yellow-orange."

"What does that mean," Myka asked, taking another bite of her cookie.

"It means that you're more peaceful and Pete's settled down, she explained.

"This is all very interesting," Pete interrupted, as Myka opened her mouth to ask something else, "but I'd like to go back to bed."

Leena smiled, "don't let me keep you up."

Myka tried to choke out a protest around the bite of cookie she'd just taken, but Pete would hear none of it. He took the hand not holding the cookie and led her out of the kitchen. When she stumbled, Pete scooped her into his arms and carried her back up the stairs.

Leena peered around the corner in time to see Pete, with Myka in his arms, disappear up the stairs. She smiled, reading the protectiveness in Pete's aura and, despite her protests, the tranquility in Myka's. _Perhaps_ she thought_ being stuck together will finally make them open their eyes and see what's right in front of them. _With that thought running through her head, Leena headed back to her bed to get some sleep.

**(Oh no, it's a scene break, run for your lives.)**

AN2: 2, 852 words. That's the most I've ever written for a single posting.

I have no idea where the scene with Leena came from. I intended to write a cute, slightly fluffy thing with Pete and Myka going to get cookies, maybe walking in on Claudia, also getting a late night snack; but it seems the plot bunnies had other ideas.

Ah well, I also meant to get this up yesterday, but I fell asleep before I finished typing it.

Please review, even if it's just to say "update faster" because it really does help me.


	5. Mind of a matchmaker

AN: 5 reviews! My face just broke from smiling so hard! Sorry this took so long, comparatively, but the bunnies went on a review high and wanted to try something new, so here is my first posted attempt at first-person.

Rena Wolfe, JulesHope, KJay99, claudia-scags, and Usa-Chan7: BIG COOKIE!

KJay99: another BIG COOKIE for guessing the scene. It was the one where Artie dumps goo on Pete and Myka. It comes from episode 2 of season 1.

**(This is still a scene break)**

I woke to my alarm earlier than I usually set it. For a moment I considered going back to sleep, then I remembered there was something I wanted to check before the others woke up. I rolled out of bed, landing lightly and slipped out of my room.

I paused by Artie's door to check if he was asleep. He might not know it, but he snores fit to wake the dead. Oddly enough, I find it comforting, knowing that he's just a room away if the nightmares threaten again.

I padded past his door and tiptoed past HG's. If Artie snores, Hg sleeps like a panther. She'd be up and halfway to the door before I could sneeze if I poked into her room. Luckily, it's not her room I want to check.

The room I wanted was nearest the stairs. Well, one of the two nearest the stairs, I wasn't sure which. I slid up to Pete's door, avoiding the creaky spot near the stairs, and cracked the door enough to peer in. There was a complete lack of warm, breathing, lovebirds. I closed the door and crossed the landing to Myka's.

I paused a second before opening this door, torn, but my curiosity quickly overpowered everything else and I cracked it open. I poked my head around the door, ready to retreat at any second, but relaxed as soon as I saw them. It took all my effort not to let out an "Aw", they were that cute.

They'd probably started out on opposite sides of the bed, but sometime during the night, Pete had kicked off the covers and Myka had snuggled close for warmth. Her back was pressed against his chest and his arms had gone around her, holding her close. They looked extremely cozy. I quietly backed out and closed the door, feeling that I was intruding on something private.

I went downstairs, because there was no way I'd get back to sleep now. I found Leena in the kitchen, making breakfast.

"Hello, Claudia," she said without turning around, "you're up early." I've long since stopped asking how she does that.

"Hey Leena," I responded, sidling up and trying to steal a pancake, "I was checking on our resident lovebirds." My hand got whacked with the spoon for my troubles.

"So what's the verdict?' she asked, flipping a pancake.

"They're cuddled up together, fast asleep," I answered.

She glanced sideways at me. "They must be really cute; your aura got a pink tinge when you said that."

I considered for maybe half a second. "Yeah, they are pretty cute." I pushed off the counter I'd been leaning against. "Well, I'm going to get dressed, see you in a bit."

One change of clothes and reapplication of hair dye later, I came back down. HG was now leaning against the counter, holding a cup of coffee.

"Fantastic stuff, this," she said in her British accent, "there are advantages to the modern age."

"That there are," I agreed, slipping past her to get my own cup.

I'd just about finished my coffee when Leena proclaimed breakfast ready. "I'll get the others up," I said. I went back upstairs.

"I almost feel sorry for them," I heard HG remark to Leena as I reached the top. She's just sore because I got to wake her up one time and I jumped on the bed where she was sleeping and bounced up and down. I can be quite immature when I want to.

I quietly opened the door to Myka's room and tiptoed across the floor to the bed. The lovebirds were in exactly the same position where I'd left them. This time I couldn't resist.

"Aw, aren't you two cute," I said, rather loudly. Their eyes opened groggily. Myka tried to stretch, but ran into Pete and suddenly seemed to realize the position they were in.

"When you're done cuddling, Leena says breakfast is ready," I informed them. I quickly left the room, and leaned against the wall, chocking with laughter at the shocked looks on their faces.

Once I recovered, I pushed off the wall and went into Artie's room. He had pulled the covers up to his chin and was still snoring, though quieter now.

I leaned over his ear. "Wake up, geezer!" I said. I didn't exactly yell it, but it wasn't my inside voice either.

He tried to sit up, but only managed to get tangled in his blankets. "What?" He groped for his glasses, put them on, and saw it was me. "What was that for, Claudia?" he snapped.

"Looks like someone didn't get enough beauty sleep," I teased.

Artie grumbled something as I showed myself out so he could get dressed. It sounded like 'inventory for a week'. That's Artie's favorite method of punishment. Really, he needs to get some imagination. Then I thought about that and shuddered. Who knew what Artie would do with a little imagination?

"Come on Myka," I heard Pete whine as I passed that door, "I want breakfast."

I grinned at his childishness and increased my speed. Once Pete got there, the pancakes would disappear.

**(And it's another scene break)**

Artie slapped a folder down on the table. "We have a case."

Myka reached for the folder, but I beat her there, snatching it up.

Artie sat down heavily and reached for a pancake. "As Pete and Myka are currently indisposed, Claudia, you will be going."

I fist pumped. "Oh yeah."

"However, as you are a junior agent, HG will be going with," he continued, rather grumpily.

"When do we leave?" HG asked.

"The plane leaves in two hours," he answered, "so you'd best get packed." The last remark was directed at me, since I've gone on so few field assignments.

I finished my pancakes and stood up from the table, hurrying upstairs to get packed.

I was just finishing up when HG walked in. "Ready to go?" she asked.

I looked at the bag in her hand. "It's been like, five minutes, how did you pack so fast?"

"I've had lots of practice," she answered, "and it's been more than five minutes."

I finished shoving a couple changes of clothes into my bag and picked it up. "Ready."

Pete and Myka had left for the day when we got back downstairs. I snagged the keys and slid into the driver's seat. HG got in the passenger door and we set off for the airport.

**(Just to clear up any confusion, they're coming back the evening of Pete and Myka's third day stuck together, so the effect will wear off the next morning(And this is a scene break))**

I was ready for a shower and bed when I got back. It had taken us almost two full days to snag and bag the Artifact, a bagpipe that mind-controlled things when played.

I stopped at the sound of Myka's voice. It was coming from the living room. I tiptoed up and peered around the corner. Pete and Myka were sitting together on the couch. She was holding a book and reading aloud, with her head on his shoulder. Pete had an arm around her shoulder, and his head was atop hers with his eyes closed.

This was, if possible, even cuter than when I'd caught them snuggled up yesterday morning, if only because they were conscious this time. They'd chosen to cuddle on the couch, so maybe there was hope for them after all.

I sneaked through the room to the kitchen, where I was sure Leena would be. Myka's voice made an excellent disguise for my tread.

As, I'd expected, Leena was in the kitchen, cleaning. I leaned against the counter. "How long have they been like that?" I asked.

"Almost since they came back," she answered, "the Warehouse almost exploded today and they were all running around trying to fix it."

I stifled a laugh, imagining Artie running around with his tools, trying desperately to fix whatever had broken. Heck, just imagining Artie trying to run was funny.

Myka's voice was getting softer now; I had to crane to hear it. I guessed Pete had fallen asleep and she didn't want to wake him.

"Well, they're consciously cuddling," I remarked, "think they're coming to their senses?"

Leena turned and studied the lovebirds a moment. "Well, they're both radiating content, so I think they're coming around."

**(I really hope you guys know what this is by now)**

In the Warehouse, Artie's computer pinged. He leaped over, with surprising grace, and studied the screen. When he finished reading, he sat back in his chair and studied the Artifact alert. "Got you now," he said.

**(One last scene break)**

AN2: And that's a wrap. Hope you liked that little insight into Claudia's head. Well, not exactly little, it scored at 1609 words.

Please review, the bunnies are addicted to reviews and won't work without them.

The next chapter will be called "Undercover". Extra cookie to whomever can guess what Artifact Pete and Myka will be hunting. Hint#1: It follows our scheme of matchmaking, but it also does the opposite. #2: It has a string.


	6. After an Artifact I

**AN: Hi, I'm back, I'm alive; I survived English. This took. So. Bloody. Long. to write. I had this wonderful long 4.5+K word chapter, looked it over, realized it sucked, and rewrote the entire thing. Plus, I was kind of lacking in inspiration, so I went back and treated myself to a Warehouse 13 marathon, and by the time I got to Duped, the plot bunnies came running back.**

**Usa-Chan: No extra cookie for you. The Artifact is not one that's been used on the show, though you do still get a BIG COOKIE for reviewing.**

**Wickedchik500: ding, ding! Two BIG COOKIES for you!**

**Rena Wolfe: you guessed right, two BIG COOKIES coming your way. Glad you liked Claudia's POV.**

**MyGeekSide-101: thank you, your review kind of reminded me this story still existed. Since you reviewed both chapter three and chapter 5, you get two BIG COOKIES. Sadly, you did not guess the correct Artifact, so you don't get an extra cookie.**

**And so, without further ado, I present the sixth chapter of Plotting.**

**Disclaimer: I own Warehouse 13! *waves contract stolen from syfy above head* *men in black suits take contract away* aw, now I don't anymore. *light bulb moment* yet. *revs chainsaw***

* * *

Myka opened her eyes as the light streaming through the windows hit her face. There was an instant of "where am I" before she realized she was sitting on the couch at Leena's B&B. The next realization was that she was leaning on Pete, who had his arm around her and his head atop hers.

_We must have fallen asleep while I was reading_ she thought. She looked down for the book and a smile crossed her features. Someone, Leena most likely, had moved her book to the table and spread a blanket over the pair of them.

For a moment she nestled back into Pete, considering going back to sleep. _I could get used to this_ she thought drowsily, starting to fade off again. Then a quiet clanging sounded from the kitchen and she decided to investigate.

Careful not to wake her still-sleeping partner, she moved the blanket off her legs and stood up. She winced as her legs protested the change in position and gingerly shook them out. Once she worked out the kinks, Myka crossed the room towards the kitchen.

During the past few days, they'd discovered that they could feel where the tether ended, so Myka kept her senses alert for the gentle tug the meant she couldn't go any further. Luckily, the tether was long enough that she could stand in the doorway.

Leena was in the kitchen, making breakfast. "Hello," she greeted without turning around, "did I wake you?"

_How does she do that?_ Myka wondered. "No, I was awake before," she said.

"You slept well." It wasn't a question, but Myka answered it like one anyway.

"I did," she responded, "Does my aura always say how well rested I am?"

"No," Leena answered, turning back to breakfast, "It shows your mood, and from that I can usually gauge how well you slept. For instance, today you're radiating content. Something to do with the company, perhaps?"

"I don't know what you mean," Myka said, miraculously keeping straight face, while inside a traitorous little voice that sounded oddly like Claudia was saying 'yes you do.'

"Of course you don't," Leena said, in a tone that meant she didn't believe Myka. "Would you like to help?" she offered, changing the subject.

Myka checked the sense she had of the tether. She had perhaps a foot of play. "Sure," she said, edging into the kitchen and leaning against the counter next to Leena.

"I'll get the bacon, you watch the eggs," Leena said, she handed Myka the spatula and crossed to the fridge to get the bacon.

Myka turned and started stirring the eggs, while Leena set up another pan next to her and started in on the bacon.

They worked in comfortable silence until Pete woke. "Myka?" he called softly.

"In here," she responded.

Pete made his way into the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "What's for breakfast?" he asked.

"Do you always think with your stomach?" Myka shot back.

"Yes," he answered. He walked over to see for himself. "Ooh, bacon." Leena smacked his hand with a wooden spoon.

"No bacon until it's fully cooked," she chided, "Why don't you go upstairs and wake the others, and breakfast will be ready by the time you've finished."

Pete looked at the bacon, then Leena's expression and pushed off the counter where he'd been leaning. "You coming, Myks?" he asked, and then took off. Myka stood with her mouth open for approximately two seconds, then put down the spatula, excused herself to Leena, and started chasing her partner.

"I told you not to call me that," she yelled after him. She was perhaps halfway up the stairs when they both felt the tug that preceded the flying. Before they could do anything to correct it, Pete went tumbling down, Myka somehow fell up and they rolled back to the bottom of the stairs.

The racket had woken up everybody else. HG came flying out of her room, holding a Tesla and looking ready to shoot anything that moved. Artie took second for most-awake person, looking different in his pajamas. They simultaneously took in the agents lying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs and went down as fast as they could without joining the pile.

Myka groaned when Artie shook her. "Ow," she said, putting a hand to her forehead. Abruptly realizing, she shot bolt upright and looked around for her partner. HG was checking his pulse.

"He didn't respond when I shook him," she explained before Myka could ask, "He was just knocked unconscious."

"What happened here?" asked a voice from the top of the stairs. A bleary eyed Claudia had joined the mix. Seeing Pete at the bottom of the stairs and Myka still clutching her head, any traces of sleepiness vanished. She ran down and knelt by them. "You guys ok?" she asked Myka.

"I just got a bump," Myka assured her, "Pete was knocked unconscious."

At that moment, Leena came out. "Breakfast's ready," she said. Her eyebrows rose as she took them all in. "Well, that's certainly a new way to wake them up," she commented to Myka. "By the way, the Artifact's influence broke," she added as she turned back into the kitchen, coming out a minute later with two bags of ice. They moved the unconscious agent onto the couch and Leena put the ice on his head. She gave the other one to Myka and instructed her to hold it to her head where it hurt.

Myka thanked her, and then headed upstairs to change out of yesterday's clothes. By the time she came back down, Pete was sitting at table, holding the ice to his head and eating a piece of bacon. She sat down next to him and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow," he exclaimed, "What was that for?"

"For calling me _Myks_," she answered, snagging some bacon for herself.

Artie dropped something in the middle of the table. "We have an Artifact," he said.

"Geezer, in case you haven't noticed, we have about a million Artifacts," Claudia put in.

"Inventory," Artie snapped.

Myka took the file and started flipping through it. "This is a lot of information, how long have you been tracking it?"

"The Warehouse team has been tracking Cupid's bow for about thirty years now," Artie told her.

Claudia choked on her drink. "Thirty years and you haven't found it," she repeated, "how have you not snagged this yet?"

"That's the interesting part," said Artie, "every time we get close, it changes hands until it disappears. This is why you two must tread very carefully while investigating."

"Undercover?" Claudia put in hopefully.

"No!" protested two voices.

Claudia looked disappointed and turned her attention back to her breakfast.

"Anyway as I was saying, don't reveal that you're Secret Service unless it's absolutely necessary," Artie warned them.

"Where are we going today?" Pete asked, stealing the folder from Myka and holding it at arm's length so she couldn't take it back. "A town called Eureka, it would seem," he said, squinting at the paper, "It's in Oregon, by the sea." He looked at Myka, who was stealthily trying to nab the folder back, and moved the folder so it was once again out of her reach. "Pack your bathing suit."

Myka smacked him in the shoulder

"Ok, ok, it was a joke," Pete said, hands coming up in surrender. He handed her the folder as a peace offering.

She took it and began flipping through once more. "What exactly does it do?" she asked the senior agent.

"From what we've gathered, it manufactures emotions," he told them, shifting into information mode, "best known for love, of course, but it's also capable of rage, sorrow, even giddy, infectious joy."

"You sound like you're talking from experience," HG observed, taking a sip of her drink.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" he snapped, "like at the Warehouse, doing inventory?"

"I thought you assigned that to Claudia," she said.

"Well, she could use some help," Artie retorted.

"Hey," the teen protested, "'she' is right here."

"Anyway," Artie continued, choosing to talk over Claudia. "Be very careful around it, because it can affect your emotions it will affect your judgment. Now, get going, goo's already in the car."

Myka nodded, shutting the folder. "Got it," she said. The brunette got up and poked her partner. "Coming, Pete?" she asked.

"What?" he tried to ask, but it didn't come out very clearly with a mouthful of food.

Myka sighed and tugged his arm, "come on" she urged, "grab your bag, and we can get going in ten."

Pete swallowed and got up, following his partner up the stairs.

"He looks a bit like a puppy," Claudia noted quietly to HG, "following her like that." She hopped to her feet following a glance at Artie. "Come on, HG, we'll carpool!"

"What is 'carpool'?" the Brit asked, allowing herself to be led out to where the cars waited.

* * *

_7 hours later_

"We're here!" Pete exclaimed from the passenger seat.

Myka rolled her eyes. "You act like you were in doubt," she remarked.

Her partner assumed a wounded expression. "Hey, it's been hours since I last ate, I need a cookie." Myka buttoned down a giggle at his antics. She would never admit it, but he was rather cute when he wasn't being annoying.

"Talk to the locals or find a place to stay first?" she asked, getting down to business.

"Poke around," Pete decided, "we might get lucky and the Artifact might jump out at us."

"Pete, since when have Artifacts come with labels?" asked Myka exasperatedly.

"Good point," he noted. A second later, something else in the shape of a bakery, had grabbed his attention. "Look, Myka they have cookies."

One look at his face told her that she would never hear the end of this if she didn't stop, so she reluctantly pulled over. "One, then we have to get back to work," she reminded him.

"Of course," said Pete, unfastening his seat belt, "you coming in?"

"I'll wait," Myka said firmly.

"Your loss," he said with a shrug. He slipped out of the car and went in. Myka flipped off the engine and slumped back into her seat. Her mind took this reprieve from having to watch the road to begin sorting through the facts that had been gathered on Cupid's bow. On the way up here, Pete had read the file aloud whenever they were between radio towers.

Artie had been right; there were quite a few cases, some less well documented than others. One particularly memorable one featured a man who'd practically turned into a love-spreading hippie under the Artifact's influence. On the other end of the spectrum was a woman who'd tried her best to rip her oldest friend limb from limb. Sprinkled in between the bizarre ones were the usual love stories thought of in conjunction with Cupid's bow.

A knock on the window startled her out of her slight trance. Myka jumped slightly and unlocked the car, allowing Pete to climb back in with his newest acquisition.

"Before you get mad at me for taking so long," he said quickly, "I was talking to the lady at the counter and she told me there have been a few instances of odd behavior around. Most notable being Zanna and Josef, resident enemies here. They can't stand each other, right? Well, one second, they're dukeing it out in front of the cafe and the next second they nearly had to be arrested for public indecency."

Myka, who had started the car during his little story, allowed a smile to spread across her face. "That smells like Artifact to me, you getting any vibes?"

"Nah," Pete said, "but I do think it prompts further investigation."

"Did the lady at the counter say where we could find Josef and Zanna?"

"They should be somewhere around," Pete told her between bites of his cookie, "Zanna works as a waitress and Josef is town deputy."

"I'll talk to Zanna if you take Josef," Myka offered.

"Whoa, two people, small town, they go off in different directions, not suspicious at all."

Myka parked the car in front of the cafe, located on Main Street. "If we split up, we can cover more territory and get this down faster," she retorted.

"People in a new place tend to stick to what they know, that means each other," Pete observed.

"Fine," she huffed, "we'll stick together." She got out of the car and stalked into the cafe. Everyone there looked up as the bell above the door tinkled, but the warehouse agent ignored them. She went straight to the counter and sat down, resting her head in her hands.

"Man troubles?" asked a sympathetic voice.

"Something like that," Myka confided, sitting up as the bell rang again, signaling Pete's arrival. The waitress, who was the one who'd just addressed her, had black hair and green-brown eyes. She wore her apron over a t-shirt and skirt.

"What can I get you?" asked the waitress.

"Information, right now," she said, "we're new in town and we'd like to see the sights. Isn't that right, Pete?"

"Yeah," her partner agreed, "especially anything to do with interesting history or weird happenings. Myka here is a bookworm."

The aforementioned agent gave a pained smile and nodded her confirmation.

The waitress glanced around the cafe; probably checking if anyone needed service, then rested her elbows on the counter.

"Well, the weirdest happening to strike this sleepy little town in decades is probably me and Josef," she confided, "I'd prefer you hear the story from me so you can get all your facts straight."

"My name is Zanna, I work here," she began, "Josef is town deputy, cute until he opens his mouth. There's something about him that rubs me the wrong way, vice-versa for him, so we've never gotten along. One day, he comes in and we started arguing about something, I don't even remember what; and then, in the middle of a sentence, he stops talking. He got this slightly confused look, like you do when you're all dizzy, then he just up and kissed me."

"My first reaction was to get one of Vince's frying pans and whale him over the head with it, but then something happened and the rest of the memory is covered by a weird haze. I know that I kissed him back, until Josef's boss came in and nearly busted a gut laughing at us." She turned faintly pink at that, like it was embarrassing to even recall.

"Did the haze have a color?" Pete asked.

Zanna snapped her eyes shut, squinting as she tried to remember. "Pink, I think," she said, "now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wait some tables. The unofficial expert on sights and history is that girl, if you want more info, but mind that you don't get sucked into her conspiracy theories." With that explanation, she stood up straight once more and, grabbed the water pitcher before beginning her rounds.

The agents turned in the direction she'd pointed. Another black-haired girl was sitting at the table in the corner, back to the wall, hunched over some books laid out on the table in front of her. They exchanged a look and walked over.

"Hello," the girl greeted, without looking up, "new in town?"

"Yeah," Myka replied, "How'd you know?"

"She only tells that story to newcomers," was the reply. She finally looked up from her book, revealing green eyes very similar to the ones they'd just been talking to. "I'm Alyssa, by the way, I'd shake your hand, but the table's in the way. Zanna sent you over here, right?"

Pete nodded.

"Awesome," she continued, "well, my sister dear neglected a bit of the story. She and Josef have had mega-obvious crushes on each other since day one, but they're both lying to themselves. Don't get me wrong, they argue a lot, but I think it's just a cover for their feelings. Anger is second cousin to passion, after all."

Myka raised her eyebrows, "sister?"

"yeah, Zanna's my sister," Alyssa said, "you couldn't tell? Oh well, I'm sure you don't want to hear about my sister's love life, or lack thereof, so what do you want to know about?"

Myka was a little surprised how fast the girl was talking, so Pete jumped into the conversation. "We'd love to know about any history this town has, especially the weird bits," he told the girl.

A broad grin spread across her face. "You want a tour guide," she inferred, "well, you came to the right person, just let me grab my stuff and I'll be happy to treat you to a everything-included tour of this place, free of charge."

She shoveled the books into a backpack hanging over the back of her chair and slung it over her shoulders. "Zan, I'm heading out, be back!" she called towards the counter.

A hand came up in confirmation of the greeting and their guide led them out of the cafe and onto Main Street.

"this is Main Street, as you probably gathered from the sign," she began, "over there is the church, featured a mad monk who hung himself a couple hundred years ago..."

* * *

**Well, that was more of a hey-I'm-still-alive chapter, and I've no right to ask you to review after, what four months of inactivity, but have I completely lost my style?**

**Speaking of, it's interesting for me to see how much my writing has changed in that amount of time, I was going back over what Id' written and I was thinking something like "wow, this is nothing like what I write today."**

**Anyway, I hope you liked that little peek at Eureka (yes, I'm a syfy nerd and I don't own Eureka). More to come.  
**


	7. After an Artifact II

**Hi! I'm back again. And *gasp* it hasn't been four months (or five).**

**I would like to thank:**

**Reikgirl  
**

**Mathmel**

**wickedchik500**

**for reviewing. And of course everyone reading this story who didn't review 'cause they were mad at me for taking so long to update, or they forget this story still existed because I took so long to update.  
**

**Well, actually, now that you mention it, I own Alyssa. Anything else? Ain't mine.  
**

* * *

They hadn't made it very far down the street when Myka was nearly bowled over by a dark-haired man coming out of a building marked "Sheriff's office".

"Sorry," he said quickly, "sorry, Ms..."

"Myka," the agent provided.

"Pleased to meet you, he replied, extending a hand to shake.

"Now Jo, don't hit on the woman with her boyfriend standing right there," Alyssa chided, "these nice people are new in town and they'd like to hear about any history and weird happenings and things like that. Would you care to tell them about that incident in the cafe with Zanna?"

His ears turned red. "No," he stammered out very quickly, "I have to, um, go do something, and you need to stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"But that's no fun," she complained as he walked away.

She turned back to the agents. "That, in case you didn't gather, was Josef," she explained, "like I said, mega-obvious crushes."

Pete stared after the retreating deputy. "He looked more embarrassed than anything else," the agent noted.

Their guide waved a dismissive hand. "You just don't know him very well," she replied, "now, returning to my original purpose, this is the general store, manned by Eric. If you ask Nell, he's pretty cute. Next over is the barber's, uninteresting little place until you need a haircut.

She continued on in this fashion, occasionally letting drop a neat tidbit or two. Myka was riveted, but Pete was slowly becoming more and more bored, history was simply not his thing.

"-accidentally blew up his garage least year, and we've lost Pete."

"What?" Pete asked, snapping back to reality.

Myka sighed. "Did you even pay attention?" she accused.

"Of course," Pete insisted, "I just lose interest when it gets all boring and history-y."

"History-y is not a word," argued Myka.

"When did you two sneak off and get married?" their guide asked offhandedly. The agents turned to glare at her, but she was staring in the opposite direction. "If you're done arguing," she continued lightly, "we could head back to the cafe and grab some dinner."

"Dinner sounds good," Pete agreed.

"Of course you think that," his partner accused, "you think with your stomach."

"Do not," Pete insisted.

"Really?" Myka asked incredulously, "then why were you complaining the whole way up that you were hungry?"

"I was not," her partner objected, "I asked once, _once_, if I could grab something to eat when you stopped for gas. I hardly think that consists of 'whining the whole way'"

"I never said 'whining' Myka pointed out, "but now that you mention it, you were whining, like a five year old."

"Five?" Pete asked, pretending to look offended, "I was eight before."

"Key word there _before_," the brunette shot back, stressing the last word.

"We're here," Alyssa cut in, opening the door. She crossed the floor and plunked down at the table where she'd left her backpack before, followed by the agents, still bickering.

"Will you be staying?" Zanna asked when she cam to take their order, "it's Tuesday."

Seeing the agents' blank looks, Alyssa explained, "Tuesday, the one day a week Vince lets us turn his cafe into a dance floor."

"I'm not sure," Myka said hesitatingly, swapping a look with her partner, "can we talk about it?"

The black-haired girl relocated to the counter where she plopped herself onto a stool and piped up a conversation with one of the other patrons.

"We should go," Pete said before Myka even got a chance to say anything, "it will be a good excuse to mingle and get some information."

"I was going to suggest the same thing," she replied, "just try to behave."

"of course, Myks," he teased. She smacked his arm.

* * *

They intended to stay in the corner, out of the way and go over what they knew again, but the townsfolk had other plans. The agents were enlisted in moving the tables and chairs off to the side, opening a place for a dance floor.

The preparations were simple and the locals moved through them with the ease of long practice. Pete and Myka took the opportunity to chat with several people, try and learn a bit more. The learned many things, next to none pertinent to the case.

It seemed like they'd just moved the last piece of furniture out of the way when people started arriving. Soon, the cafe was unrecognizable.

The cafe owner started with a few slower tunes as a sort of warm-up. However, he had to go to the bathroom and one of the teens got the wheel. He started up some techno piece and the cafe owner came back to find his club had turned into a nightclub.

The agents mostly stayed out of the way, keeping their eyes peeled for anyone suspicious.

"Look," Myka whispered after several dozen songs had passed. She nudged Pete and angled her head, indicating out the window. For a moment, Pete couldn't see what she had seen.

"Up," she prompted, "look up."

He followed her direction and spotted two figures standing on the roof of the opposite building. Silhouetted by the moonlight, he couldn't tell who they were.

"I think we should go check it out," Pete murmured.

"Agreed," Myka replied. Discreetly, they got up and made their way across the street. The store was empty and dark, but a door hanging slightly open showed them the way to the roof.

"See?" Alyssa's voice asked.

"How did you-" the other voice was filled with wonder, and curious.

"Don't touch it!" She freaked. Then an "Ah!" sounded down the stairs.

The partners wasted no time, drawing their weapons and bolting up the remaining stairs. They burst out to see a figure doubled over clutching his hand, Alyssa bent over him.

"Are you alright?" her voice held a tremor.

One hand lashed out, catching the girl across the face. She fell back with a yelp, something in her hand clattering to the ground. "Now I am," he growled.

"Secret Service," Pete called, raising the tesla, "let me see your hands."

The boy ignored them. "How do you work this?" he questioned the girl, lifting the thing she'd dropped. It came into the light and the agents saw it was a bow made of wood.

Alyssa muttered something.

"What was that?" he growled threateningly.

"Focus on an emotion and shove it into the bow," she said very fast, "the better the focus, the longer the effect lasts."

He pulled back the string, getting a feel for it. "Like this?" he asked, drawing it back. A pink arrow shimmered into existence, ready to be let loose.

"Yes," Alyssa whimpered.

He swiveled towards the agents, still holding the bow. "Let's see how well it works," he said and before anyone had time to do anything about it, he'd released the string, letting the arrow sail towards them. It impacted Myka, dissolving into pink dust that coated her frame and sunk into her skin.

"Myka? Are you all right?" Pete asked, not removing his gaze from the boy with the Artifact.

"I will be," she replied and there was something in her voice that made him turn. She held her gun loosely at her side, dangling from her fingertips, not paying any attention to the Artifact or its holder.

"As soon as I do this," she finished and before Pete had time to properly process her words, he was having the sense kissed out of him. There was a small shed-like thing that housed the upper most portion of the stairs to the roof and his back impacted it.

A small portion of his brain was protesting. _You shouldn't be doing this. She's your partner. She's under the influence of an Artifact_. However the rest of him simply didn't care, because his body had stopped answering to his brain the second Myka had kissed him.

Voices broke through the Myka-induced fog in his brain.

"Looks like it works," the boy commented, "I wonder what happens if I use it on you." His voice had gentled significantly from when Pete had first heard it, becoming soft rather than filled with rage.

"Please," Alyssa pleaded, "please don't, you're my friend. Please, I'm begging you, don't do it."

"It'll be okay," he assured her. Another pink arrow formed on the bow as he lifted it, aiming for her heart. Pete suddenly got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach and, by some superhuman force of will, gently pushed Myka away from him.

She gave him a shocked, hurt look, but Pete ignored it by focusing on the dread coming from his vibe. He somehow knew that if the boy fired that arrow, something terrible would happen. He snatched up the tesla from where he'd dropped it and fired, a second too late.

The arrow left the bowstring as the lightning hit the boy. He dropped to his knees and Pete raced toward the teens. Alyssa was going into convulsions, and the boy was out for the count. The bow was glowing, shining like a star, then the air echoed with a crack. The girl slumped back, convulsions ceasing and breathing evening out.

"Pete?" his partner called, "is everything alright?"

Pete turned to see her standing beside the fallen boy, looking slightly confused as to what had just transpired. A smile spread across his face when he saw her free of the Artifact's influence. "It is now," he replied.

A small groan told him that the girl was waking up. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, remaining unfocused for a moment, then she sat bolt upright.

"He shot me," she said disbelievingly, "And you shot him. So why does it feel like there's an elephant standing on my chest?"

"You went into some sort of shock when the arrow hit you," Myka explained, checking the boy's vitals, "had what looked like a seizure. We should get them both to a doctor." The last bit was addressed to Pete, who nodded, and scooped up a protesting Alyssa.

Myka slung the boy over her shoulder in a fireman's carry and followed him back down the stairs.

There was a hubbub following their reentry into the cafe. the agents quickly fabricated a story about the teens being shocked by something (true) but they didn't know what (less true). Most of the attention was focused on the boy since he was still out for the count.

At some point during the commotion, Myka became aware that Alyssa had disappeared. She tapped Pete on the shoulder and told him she was going somewhere, she'd be back soon.

* * *

Quietly, Myka nudged the door open. Alyssa sat on the roof, swinging her legs over the side. Cupid's bow rested on her lap, connected only by the string.

"You don't have to worry," she called as Myka walked carefully toward her, "it's powerless now."

"I wasn't worried," she told the girl, "not about it. Are you okay?"

"He shot me," she whispered, not looking at her companion, "he shot me with one of the love arrows and I didn't feel anything, not for him, not for anyone." The girl shook her head, black hair flowing with the motion. "Does that mean that I'm incapable of loving?"

"Of course not," Myka insisted, "anyone who looked at you with your sister couldn't doubt that."

A smile quirked the corner of her mouth. "thanks, Myka, and-" She was cut off by Pete, standing in front of the cafe and yelling up at them.

"Chicks, enough girl talk, we have to get back!"

Myka let out a amused huff at her partner's antics. "I have to go," she said, standing up.

"Myka, wait," Alyssa called after her. She scurried along the roof and held out the bow. "This is what you came for," she said, "take it where it won't hurt anyone else ever again." The agent nodded and took the broken Artifact.

"And Myka," she continued, "the bow doesn't create emotion, only unearth it."

Myka waved and continued down the stairs, bow in hand. It didn't matter about her purple gloves, the bow's power had fled with its intact frame. Her mind was busily picking through Alyssa's words.

"Have a good time?" Pete asked. He was holding a cookie, likely courtesy of Zanna.

She shrugged. "I learned some things, but I'm kind of glad to put Eureka behind me." The brunette carefully placed the captured Artifact in the trunk and slid into the passenger seat.

"Well wave goodbye," Pete said, because we've got another road trip ahead of us."

They had put the town limits behind them before Myka's brain finally clicked and she realized what it meant.

_If the bow doesn't create emotion, only unearths it, that means there has to be underlying emotion already there. That's ridiculous, I can't be in love with Pete. Right?_

* * *

**One chapter to go, which will be up much faster because I have a pretty clear idea of how its going to go. The plot bunnies are standing in a line, telling me to get writing and stop talking about it, so obviously they aren't that sad to see this story come to its close. Are you?  
**


	8. The truth

**Well, here we are. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed over the course of this, especially for putting up with that huge gap between chapters 5 and 6. It means a lot to me and I couldn't have done it without you.**

**Reikgirl: I know it was a bit rushed, I'm not great at coming up with cases, with clues and everything, so I just had it kind of all unravel and the Artifact fall into their laps.  
**

**livluvdance2992: thanks *hugs back*  
**

**wickedchik500: that was hysterical. Thanks for your review.**

**Seasammy13: I know, they're leaving out such enormous potential.**

**Odakota Rose: *pokes back* yes, cookies help, especially ones in the form of reviews that I can feed to the plot bunnies.**

**Mathmel: your wish is granted.  
**

* * *

"Where's Pete?" Claudia asked, dropping her clipboard on Artie's desk and her body on the couch. She reclined back, crossing her ankles and resting her head on palms stacked behind her head.

"Finishing his half of the inventory," Myka replied, not looking up from whatever she was doing on her desk.

"Ah," the redhead said. It was not a word, simply a noise of acknowledgment. There was a pause where the two females sat in comfortable silence, neither needing to fill it with babble.

The quiet was broken when Pete came tramping up the stairs, the old metal creaking with each step. "Why do we have to check all this stuff?" he complained to no one in particular, "it's not like it can grow legs and walk off."

"Dude, it's the Warehouse, you never know," Claudia said.

Pete opened his mouth to reply, thought for a second, then shut it again. "Stranger things have happened," he remarked, depositing his inventory sheet on her desk. "Claud, why do you have an egg on your desk?" he called, voice twisted with puzzlement.

"I do not have an egg on my desk," the tech protested.

"Yes you do," he said, holding up the little white sphere. "here, catch." The Artifact flew in an arc across the room, spinning end over end toward the couch's occupant. Claudia sat upright and stretched out a hand. The sphere smacked safely into her palm-

And cracked neatly in two on impact.

There was a hiss as whatever substance had been contained within escaped. Claudia stared at it, then slowly looked up to meet the gazes of her fellow agents.

"Pete, what were you playing with this time?" Myka sighed.

Pete opened his mouth, then closed it again. "I don't know," he confessed.

"It was an Artifact," Claudia shot out into the sudden silence. She clamped a hand over her mouth as the older agents turned toward her.

"What was it, and why was it on your desk?" Myka asked.

The answer bubbled up her throat and tore itself out even though she tried to keep it down. "It was an Artifact, and it was on my desk so Pete would play with it."

"Why would you want me to play with an Artifact?" Pete queried, "except to give Myka an excuse to snap at me."

"I wanted you to play with the Artifact so it would go off," Claudia responded. Before they could ask her another question that she didn't want to answer, she fired off one of her own. "Pete, if Myka snaps at you whenever you play with an Artifact, why do you keep doing it?"

"Because she's gorgeous when she's angry," Pete answered unhesitatingly.

Silence reigned over the room for a minute as everyone processed that statement. Myka opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to come up with a response to that. Finally, she decided to ignore it for now and turned back to Claudia.

"Claudia, what did that Artifact do, exactly?" she wondered.

"Acts like truth serum," the tech replied, "it was designed to be lobbed like a grenade and break on impact, so I was hoping Pete would drop it." She'd added that last bit herself, without prompting from the Artifact.

"And the point of getting him unable to lie was?"

"Both of you," the redhead corrected. "I wanted both of you unable to lie. The point was to get snippets like Pete just gave, about you being gorgeous when you're angry. Of course, me being in the affected range was not part of the plan."

"What plan?" Pete asked curiously.

"The plan to get you two to realize you've got mega-obvious crushes on each other," she said.

"I do not have a _mega-obvious_ crush on Myka," Pete protested.

Myka jumped on this snippet of information. "See, we're under truth serum, so he couldn't possibly lie. Your plan failed Claudia, because there's-" she choked off on the last words.

The tech grinned. "What were you about to say, Myka?" she asked.

"Nothing there to realize," Myka finished miserably.

"But," she said triumphantly, "the Artifact choked you off, so that's a lie." An idea lit her eyes and she turned back to Pete. "Pete," she began, "you said you don't have a mega-obvious crush on Myka, but do you have a crush on her?"

Pete hesitated before answering. "I-I might," he replied, "I tried not to think about it."

Claudia nodded,as if this had confirmed her deepest suspicions, and turned to the woman. "Myka, do you have a crush on Pete?" she asked.

"No," Myka said quickly even with the Artifact prompting her, then added, "but yes." The last part seemed hesitant.

"No and yes?" Pete asked, "now I'm curious."

Myka stood up quickly before he could get his question out, avoiding looking at either of them. "I think I'll do another round of inventory," she rushed out. her footsteps were quick and close together as she hurried down the stairs to the floor.

Claudia locked gazes with Pete before he could follow his partner's example and run off. "I'm going to interrogate you," she informed him, "we can do it now, or I can follow you around and badger you until you've answered all my questions. Your choice."

Pete flopped down next to her. "I'll answer your questions if you answer mine," he countered.

"Sounds good," Claudia replied, "you can go first." She settled back into the cushions, still cradling the broken halves of the Artifact, that was slowly repairing itself.

"What, exactly, have you done to us?" Pete asked.

"Put that egg-looking thing on my desk; activated the statue, that's the one that bound you together; moved the mistletoe, HG helped with that one," she listed.

"HG was in on this?" he asked.

Claudia nodded, "and Leena."

The agent shook off his surprise. "Cupid's bow. There's no way you could have been responsible for that."

The red head shook her head. "I went through the list of Artifacts being actively looked for until I found one that fit the bill, then tweaked Artie's search parameters," she said, "if the bow was active, it would show up within a day."

"All that, just to get us to realize something," Pete said. It wasn't a question, but Claudia answered it like one anyway.

"Mega-obvious, remember? Leena's in on it partly because she, with her weird aura-reading gift, can tell you two would be great together. Now, speaking of that bow, what happened in Eureka?"

* * *

Myka moved through the aisles, checking off Artifacts as she went. It was mind-numbing, repetitive work, but it let her think. And there was a lot to think about. Pete had confessed, under truth serum no less, that he considered her gorgeous. It wasn't the first time he'd said something like that, but before she had just thought he said that to make her feel better about going out on the runway.

"What did you mean, 'no but yes'?" Pete asked. She jumped at the sudden noise. The Artifact bubbled, telling her to answer and answer truthfully, but letting her gather her thoughts for the slightly more complicated question.

"I think I meant that I do have feelings for you but I'm not sure it could be considered a crush," she answered finally.

"How so?"

That one was a bit easier to answer, at least. "Cupid's bow," she replied, "it only unearths feelings that were already there, rather than create them. I was shot with a love arrow, and well..." she trailed off.

"You kissed me," Pete provided, "meaning that," here he mock gasped, the picture of someone who has just come to an obvious conclusion, "you're in love with me." It was said in a teasing voice, but that didn't change the words and the fact that he couldn't lie.

"You are so childish," she shot back, "but I guess so."

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

"Denver." She clarified, even though she could tell by his expression that he understood just from that one word, "It would be hard enough to lose you now, when you're only my work partner. If you were anything... more, I don't think I could stand it. And besides, work partners aren't supposed to-"

Pete cut off her stream of words with a kiss. "Ten feet, remember Myks?" he asked when they broke apart for air.

"I remember," Myka replied, then added, "and don't call me Myks."

Her partner ignored the request. "Whatever happens to you will probably happen to me too. And that includes falling in love."

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked, shooting his words back at him.

"I wanted to be sure," he replied, "I couldn't let you get hurt again, not after-"

This time, she was the one to cut him off with a kiss. "Works both ways," Myka told him, "we've got each others backs, alright partner?"

"Always."

* * *

"Artie nearly had a litter of kittens when found out about the whole escapade, but in the end..."

"If you say 'they lived happily ever after' I'm going to barf," Nick threatened.

"Nick," complained his sister, "stop interrupting." Tracy turned her eyes, so like her mother's, back toward the tech. "Did you really do all that stuff, Aunt Claudia?" she asked.

"Yeah, and didn't Grandpa Artie ground you for like, a month when he found out you'd been playing with the Artifacts?" Nick added.

Claudia chuckled. "Yes, I did do all that stuff, and your Grandpa Artie made me write "I will not mess with Artifacts" about five thousand times when he found out about it," she told the twins. "Now go to sleep, and try to let your Mom and Dad sleep in a bit tomorrow morning, alright?"

"Yes, Aunt Claudia," they chorused. Claudia rolled her eyes. Whenever the twins agreed so easily, it meant they were plotting something. Sure enough, as she shut the door to their room, she could hear Nick and Tracy start whispering frantically.

Pete and Myka were in for a surprise tomorrow, but that was life at the Warehouse, full of surprises.

* * *

**Someday, I might own Warehouse 13, and then this will be an arc on the show. Until then, it's been fun. Sayonara.**


End file.
